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FuzzyRussianHat · 09-23-2024, 01:37 PM

Arab League Baseball surprised some observers by lowering their requirement for free agency from eight service years down to seven. This put ALB more in the middle ground relative to the other world leagues. Beisbol Sudamerica had the most restrictive at that point with 10 years, while the most generous was the Oceania Baseball Association at five years.

Damascus shocked the Arab World by taking the Western Conference’s top seed and the Levant Division at 96-66. The Dusters entered the season as one of only three franchises without a single playoff berth. Damascus had been so poor that their only two winning seasons came two decades prior in 1992 and 1993. Their 20 year stretch of losing seasons was the longest in ALB history and one of the all-time worsts in any league.

Reigning conference champ Alexandria won the Nile Division for the fourth straight season. The Astronauts dropped from 107 wins to 91-71, but still held off Giza by six games. Cairo, who missed the playoffs last year despite 97 wins, fell to 79-83. Alexandria’s pitching staff notably set conference records for strikeouts (1870) and K/9 (11.38) which both still hold as of 2037.

Tripoli secured a third straight Mediterranean Division title. The Privateers finished 87-75, topping their closest foe Algiers at 80-82. Casablanca was 78-84, which was the first time in their storied franchise history that they posted three consecutive losing seasons. The Bruins couldn’t turn it around despite having the second richest payroll in ALB at over $89.3 million. Top seed Damascus by comparison had a $42.8 million payroll, the second lowest in the league.

Khartoum was an unremarkable 75-87, yet they boasted the Western Conference’s MVP and Pitcher of the Year. The former was 1B Ali Jassem, who repeated as MVP. The 26-year old Kuwaiti lefty smacked 70 home runs, falling two short of Tarek Abdel Rahman’s record from 2010. Jassem was only the third in ALB history to reach 70, joining world home run king Nordine Soule.

Jassem also led in runs (115), RBI (139), total bases (444), slugging (.764), OPS (1.149), wRC+ (219), and WAR (10.2). He also had a .343 batting average, falling eight points shy of a Triple Crown. The Cottonmouths would extend their slugger after the 2015 season with an eight-year, $74,600,000 deal.

While Jassem missed the Triple Crown, his teammate Mohei Awad did not. It was only the sixth Triple Crown by an ALB pitcher and the first since 2007. The 28-year old Egyptian lefty had a 21-4 record, 1.64 ERA, and 296 strikeouts over 241.1 innings. Awad also led with 28 quality starts, 8.9 WAR, and a 227 ERA+. He pitched one more year for Khartoum, then got the bag in MLB with a massive seven-year, $140,900,000 deal with Chicago.

Tripoli upset Alexandria 2-0 in the first round, sending the Privateers to their second Western Conference Final in three years. Top seed Damascus would keep their magical season going though, taking the WCF 3-1 for their first pennant.

Defending ALB champ Jeddah earned the Eastern Conference’s top seed at 103-59. The Jackals won their fourth straight Saudi Division title, pulling 15 games away from a solid 88-74 Medina. Abu Dhabi won the Gulf Division for the third straight year with their 89-73 mark eight games better than their closest foe Dubai.

In the Iraq Division, last year’s top seed Sulaymaniyah tied for first with Baghdad at 86-76, while Mosul was close behind at 84-78. The Brown Bears won the tiebreaker game for their first-ever playoff berth. Baghdad’s own streak of losing seasons rivaled Damascus at 19 years entering 2014. This leaves the Western Conference’s Tunis as the only ALB team without a single playoff berth through its first 25 seasons.

Basra was a mediocre 72-90, but their first baseman Mohamed Hassan won Eastern Conference MVP. It was the second in three years for the 23-year old Egyptian lefty, who is already in his fifth season. Hassan led in homers (60), RBI (132), runs (118), total bases (440), slugging (.722), OPS (1.104), wRC+ (194), and 9.7 WAR). His .340 batting average was second-best, 13 points from a Triple Crown. Hassan eventually got his long-term deal in 2016 from the Bulldogs worth $139,400,000 over eight years.

Jeddah’s Herdi Wahib won his second Pitcher of the Year, having previously done it in 2011. The 27-year old Palestinian lefty was only two ERA points short of his own Triple Crown with a 2.47 ERA, 18-7 record, and 389 strikeouts. The 389 Ks sits as the seventh-most in a season by an ALB pitcher. Wahib also led in WAR (10.1), quality starts (24), complete games (11), shutouts (6), and FIP- (55) with a 159 ERA+.

The Jackals would give Wahib a seven-year, $104,000,000 extension in March 2016. They had a strong pitching staff altogether as Nour Al-Haj won his third Reliever of the Year, becoming the sixth pitcher to win the award thrice. The Lebanese righty had 249 saves in nine seasons with the Jackals, although he’d sign a free agent deal in the winter with Baghdad.

Abu Dhabi edged Baghdad 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs, giving the Destroyers their third Eastern Conference Final appearance in five years. The defending champ Jeddah sank their battleship easily though with a sweep.

Damascus was the feel-good story, but Jeddah denied them the ultimate prize 4-2 in the 25^th Arab League Championship. The Jackals became the fifth team to repeat as ALB champ, joining Medina (1992-93), Casablanca (1994-95), Mosul (1998-99), and Amman (2009-10).

Finals MVP was veteran catcher Anees Samaka, who signed with Jeddah in 2014 after bouncing between EBF, MLB, E2L, and ALB in the prior six seasons. The 33-year old Algerian journeyman had nine playoff starts with 9 hits, 7 runs, 1 double, 4 home runs, and 5 RBI.

Other notes: 2014 marked the final season for the legendary Nordine Soule, who played his final two years with Casablanca after winning seven MVPs with Basra. The world’s home run king also made history in 2014 by crossing 2500 career RBI. He retired with 2518, which was the most by any player within any one league. Soule was second in the world behind Prometheo Garcia, who had 2618 between CABA and MLB.

At retirement, Soule had 1073 home runs, 2518 RBI, 3339 hits, 2162 runs, 3056 games, 10,846 at-bats, 7334 total bases, and 153.5 WAR. As of 2037, each of those stats are still ALB’s all-time best. Soule’s 1.064 OPS was only behind Mohammed Mohamed’s 1.076 at retirement. While the Comoran lefty would eventually surrender the world homer king crown, Soule’s crown as ALB’s all-time best slugger is generally undisputed.

Baghdad’s Mohamed Mansour drew 110 walks, topping the previous ALB record of 106. Mansour’s mark remains the record as of 2037. Mohamed Aziz and Mahmoud Abbas became the seventh and eighth to reach 2500 career hits. Abbas and Mohammad Al-Munibi became the seventh and eighth to 1500 RBI. Aziz became the fourth to cross 1500 runs scored and Abbas became the fifth member of the 600 homer club.

Al-Munibi won his seventh Silver Slugger at third base. 2B Mohamed Mustafa won his eighth at second base. Abdullah Al-Tamtami became the third pitcher to reach 3500 strikeouts.

09-23-2024, 01:37 PM	#1639
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 3,200	2014 in ALB Arab League Baseball surprised some observers by lowering their requirement for free agency from eight service years down to seven. This put ALB more in the middle ground relative to the other world leagues. Beisbol Sudamerica had the most restrictive at that point with 10 years, while the most generous was the Oceania Baseball Association at five years. Damascus shocked the Arab World by taking the Western Conference’s top seed and the Levant Division at 96-66. The Dusters entered the season as one of only three franchises without a single playoff berth. Damascus had been so poor that their only two winning seasons came two decades prior in 1992 and 1993. Their 20 year stretch of losing seasons was the longest in ALB history and one of the all-time worsts in any league. Reigning conference champ Alexandria won the Nile Division for the fourth straight season. The Astronauts dropped from 107 wins to 91-71, but still held off Giza by six games. Cairo, who missed the playoffs last year despite 97 wins, fell to 79-83. Alexandria’s pitching staff notably set conference records for strikeouts (1870) and K/9 (11.38) which both still hold as of 2037. Tripoli secured a third straight Mediterranean Division title. The Privateers finished 87-75, topping their closest foe Algiers at 80-82. Casablanca was 78-84, which was the first time in their storied franchise history that they posted three consecutive losing seasons. The Bruins couldn’t turn it around despite having the second richest payroll in ALB at over $89.3 million. Top seed Damascus by comparison had a $42.8 million payroll, the second lowest in the league. Khartoum was an unremarkable 75-87, yet they boasted the Western Conference’s MVP and Pitcher of the Year. The former was 1B Ali Jassem, who repeated as MVP. The 26-year old Kuwaiti lefty smacked 70 home runs, falling two short of Tarek Abdel Rahman’s record from 2010. Jassem was only the third in ALB history to reach 70, joining world home run king Nordine Soule. Jassem also led in runs (115), RBI (139), total bases (444), slugging (.764), OPS (1.149), wRC+ (219), and WAR (10.2). He also had a .343 batting average, falling eight points shy of a Triple Crown. The Cottonmouths would extend their slugger after the 2015 season with an eight-year, $74,600,000 deal. While Jassem missed the Triple Crown, his teammate Mohei Awad did not. It was only the sixth Triple Crown by an ALB pitcher and the first since 2007. The 28-year old Egyptian lefty had a 21-4 record, 1.64 ERA, and 296 strikeouts over 241.1 innings. Awad also led with 28 quality starts, 8.9 WAR, and a 227 ERA+. He pitched one more year for Khartoum, then got the bag in MLB with a massive seven-year, $140,900,000 deal with Chicago. Tripoli upset Alexandria 2-0 in the first round, sending the Privateers to their second Western Conference Final in three years. Top seed Damascus would keep their magical season going though, taking the WCF 3-1 for their first pennant. Defending ALB champ Jeddah earned the Eastern Conference’s top seed at 103-59. The Jackals won their fourth straight Saudi Division title, pulling 15 games away from a solid 88-74 Medina. Abu Dhabi won the Gulf Division for the third straight year with their 89-73 mark eight games better than their closest foe Dubai. In the Iraq Division, last year’s top seed Sulaymaniyah tied for first with Baghdad at 86-76, while Mosul was close behind at 84-78. The Brown Bears won the tiebreaker game for their first-ever playoff berth. Baghdad’s own streak of losing seasons rivaled Damascus at 19 years entering 2014. This leaves the Western Conference’s Tunis as the only ALB team without a single playoff berth through its first 25 seasons. Basra was a mediocre 72-90, but their first baseman Mohamed Hassan won Eastern Conference MVP. It was the second in three years for the 23-year old Egyptian lefty, who is already in his fifth season. Hassan led in homers (60), RBI (132), runs (118), total bases (440), slugging (.722), OPS (1.104), wRC+ (194), and 9.7 WAR). His .340 batting average was second-best, 13 points from a Triple Crown. Hassan eventually got his long-term deal in 2016 from the Bulldogs worth $139,400,000 over eight years. Jeddah’s Herdi Wahib won his second Pitcher of the Year, having previously done it in 2011. The 27-year old Palestinian lefty was only two ERA points short of his own Triple Crown with a 2.47 ERA, 18-7 record, and 389 strikeouts. The 389 Ks sits as the seventh-most in a season by an ALB pitcher. Wahib also led in WAR (10.1), quality starts (24), complete games (11), shutouts (6), and FIP- (55) with a 159 ERA+. The Jackals would give Wahib a seven-year, $104,000,000 extension in March 2016. They had a strong pitching staff altogether as Nour Al-Haj won his third Reliever of the Year, becoming the sixth pitcher to win the award thrice. The Lebanese righty had 249 saves in nine seasons with the Jackals, although he’d sign a free agent deal in the winter with Baghdad. Abu Dhabi edged Baghdad 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs, giving the Destroyers their third Eastern Conference Final appearance in five years. The defending champ Jeddah sank their battleship easily though with a sweep. Damascus was the feel-good story, but Jeddah denied them the ultimate prize 4-2 in the 25^th Arab League Championship. The Jackals became the fifth team to repeat as ALB champ, joining Medina (1992-93), Casablanca (1994-95), Mosul (1998-99), and Amman (2009-10). Finals MVP was veteran catcher Anees Samaka, who signed with Jeddah in 2014 after bouncing between EBF, MLB, E2L, and ALB in the prior six seasons. The 33-year old Algerian journeyman had nine playoff starts with 9 hits, 7 runs, 1 double, 4 home runs, and 5 RBI. Other notes: 2014 marked the final season for the legendary Nordine Soule, who played his final two years with Casablanca after winning seven MVPs with Basra. The world’s home run king also made history in 2014 by crossing 2500 career RBI. He retired with 2518, which was the most by any player within any one league. Soule was second in the world behind Prometheo Garcia, who had 2618 between CABA and MLB. At retirement, Soule had 1073 home runs, 2518 RBI, 3339 hits, 2162 runs, 3056 games, 10,846 at-bats, 7334 total bases, and 153.5 WAR. As of 2037, each of those stats are still ALB’s all-time best. Soule’s 1.064 OPS was only behind Mohammed Mohamed’s 1.076 at retirement. While the Comoran lefty would eventually surrender the world homer king crown, Soule’s crown as ALB’s all-time best slugger is generally undisputed. Baghdad’s Mohamed Mansour drew 110 walks, topping the previous ALB record of 106. Mansour’s mark remains the record as of 2037. Mohamed Aziz and Mahmoud Abbas became the seventh and eighth to reach 2500 career hits. Abbas and Mohammad Al-Munibi became the seventh and eighth to 1500 RBI. Aziz became the fourth to cross 1500 runs scored and Abbas became the fifth member of the 600 homer club. Al-Munibi won his seventh Silver Slugger at third base. 2B Mohamed Mustafa won his eighth at second base. Abdullah Al-Tamtami became the third pitcher to reach 3500 strikeouts. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports The Level Playing Field: Alternate MLB History From 1884-Onward Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)